System and Method of Selective Auxiliary Data Capture

ABSTRACT

A method of auxiliary data capture control includes: storing, at a data capture device, a trigger condition and a baseline infrared value captured by an infrared sensor; controlling the infrared sensor to obtain captured infrared data; determining, based on the captured infrared data and the baseline infrared value, whether the trigger condition is satisfied, wherein the trigger condition includes whether the captured infrared data exceeds the baseline infrared value and whether a variance in the captured infrared data over a configurable time period is below a variance threshold; and when the trigger condition is satisfied, controlling an auxiliary data capture sensor to obtain auxiliary captured data.

BACKGROUND

Data capture devices, such as barcode scanners, can capture varioustypes of data, and provide such data to host computers for furtherprocessing. Certain types of data, such as images, can becomputationally costly for the host computers to process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated inand form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrateembodiments of concepts that include the claimed invention, and explainvarious principles and advantages of those embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for selective auxiliary datacapture.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a data capture device of the system ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of selective auxiliary data capture.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of verifying trigger conditions duringthe method of FIG. 3.

Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures areillustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements inthe figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help toimprove understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

The apparatus and method components have been represented whereappropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only thosespecific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments ofthe present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with detailsthat will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the arthaving the benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples disclosed herein are directed to a method of auxiliary datacapture control, the method comprising: storing, at a data capturedevice, a trigger condition and a baseline infrared value captured by aninfrared sensor; controlling the infrared sensor to obtain capturedinfrared data; determining, based on the captured infrared data and thebaseline infrared value, whether the trigger condition is satisfied,wherein the trigger condition includes whether the captured infrareddata exceeds the baseline infrared value and whether a variance in thecaptured infrared data over a configurable time period is below avariance threshold; and when the trigger condition is satisfied,controlling an auxiliary data capture sensor to obtain auxiliarycaptured data.

Additional examples disclosed herein are directed to a data capturedevice comprising: a memory storing a trigger condition and a baselineinfrared value; an infrared sensor; an auxiliary data capture sensor;and a processor connected with the memory, the infrared sensor and theauxiliary data capture sensor, the processor configured to: control theinfrared sensor to obtain captured infrared data; determine, based onthe captured infrared data and the baseline infrared value, whether thetrigger condition is satisfied, wherein the trigger condition includeswhether the captured infrared data exceeds the baseline infrared valueand whether a variance in the captured infrared data over a configurabletime period is below a variance threshold; and when the triggercondition is satisfied, control the auxiliary data capture sensor toobtain auxiliary captured data.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 for capturing primary and auxiliary dataassociated with items. Example items include products in a retailfacility. Primary data associated with such items can include productidentifiers such as Universal Product Codes (UPCs), which may be encodedin a barcode affixed to an item or stored in a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) tag affixed to the item. Another example ofprimary data includes a weight of the item. A further example of primarydata includes an indication of the presence of an Electronic ArticleSurveillance (EAS) tag affixed to the item.

The system 100 includes a data capture device 104 configured to capturethe above-mentioned primary data. The data capture device 104 canprovide the primary data to a host computing device 108, for example viaa network 112, which can include any suitable combination of local andwide-area networks. The host computing device 108 can include, forexample, a point-of-sale (PoS) computing device configured to furtherprocess the primary data. Such processing can include retrievingadditional information (e.g. a price) from a database stored at, orotherwise connected with, the host computing device 108. Suchinformation can be presented on a display of the host computing device,printed on a receipt, and the like.

The host computing device 108 can also be configured to perform otherfunctions that employ data beyond the primary data mentioned above,referred to as auxiliary data. For example, the host computing device108 can be configured to implement at least one item recognitionmechanism, for example to detect the type of an item when the item doesnot carry a product identifier (e.g. encoded in a barcode or RFID tag).Another example function that uses auxiliary data includes storing animage of the surroundings of the data capture device 104 at the timethat the primary data was captured, e.g. for security purposes.

The auxiliary data includes image data in the examples discussed herein,although in other examples the auxiliary data can include other types ofdata in addition to, or instead of, image data. Implementing functionsthat use auxiliary data can be costly in terms of computational andstorage resources. Therefore, the system 100 enables selective captureof auxiliary data that may mitigate the above-mentioned computationaland storage costs.

The data capture device 104 includes a controller such as a centralprocessing unit (CPU), also referred to as a processor 116interconnected with a non-transitory computer readable storage medium,such as a memory 120. The memory 120 includes any suitable combinationof volatile memory (e.g. Random Access Memory (RAM)) and non-volatilememory (e.g. read only memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable ProgrammableRead Only Memory (EEPROM), flash). The processor 116 and the memory 120each comprise one or more integrated circuits (ICs).

The processor 116, as will be discussed in greater detail below,controls various data capture sensors of the data capture device 104 tocapture the above-mentioned primary and auxiliary data. Specifically,the processor 116 also controls an infrared sensor 140 of the datacapture device 104 to capture infrared data and determines, based on thecaptured infrared data, when to capture auxiliary data. In particular,the processor 116 executes machine-readable instructions stored in thememory 120 and referred to herein as a data capture control application124 (or simply as the application 124) to perform the abovefunctionality. Execution of the application 124 configures the processor116 to capture and provide primary data to the host computing device 108and to selectively control the capture of auxiliary data based on atrigger condition. The processor 116 may determine whether to triggerthe capture of auxiliary data based at least in part on a repository 128stored in the memory 120.

The repository 128 contains a baseline infrared value. When infrareddata is captured, it is compared against the baseline infrared value todetermine when the processor 116 is to initiate the capture of auxiliarydata. The baseline infrared value represents the amount of infraredlight detected by the infrared sensor 140 of the data capture device 104based on the environment when no items are in a scan volume. In someexamples, the baseline infrared value may be set by the data capturedevice 104 on initialization. For example, when the data capture device104 is initially booted up, in response to the initialization, theprocessor 116 may control the infrared sensor 140 to capture initialinfrared data and set the baseline infrared value based on the initialinfrared data. In other examples, the baseline infrared value may bepreconfigured, or otherwise dynamically calculated by the device 104.

In other examples, the contents of the repository 128 can be integratedinto the application 124. In addition, the functionality discussedherein need not be implemented via the execution of a singleapplication. In other examples, the memory 120 can store at least oneapplication enabling the processor 116 to control the data capturesensors mentioned earlier. Such an application may expose, via anapplication programming interface (API) or the like, event identifiersto an additional application that determines when to capture auxiliarydata.

The above-mentioned data capture sensors include a primary image sensor132, the infrared sensor 140, and an auxiliary image sensor 144. In thepresent example, the data capture sensors further include a weigh-scale136 (also referred to as simply a scale 136). In other examples, thedata capture device 104 may not include a scale. Additionally, the datacapture sensors may include further data capture sensors, including ashort-range communications assembly, a laser-based barcode scanner(e.g., instead of, or in addition to, the primary image sensor 132), andthe like. The auxiliary image sensor 144, in this example, is a colorimage sensor, while the primary image sensor 132 can be a black andwhite image sensor. Further, the auxiliary image sensor 144 may have agreater resolution than the primary image sensor 132. The infraredsensor 140 can include an infrared emitter and an infrared detector todetect infrared light reflected back towards the infrared sensor 140.

The data capture device 104 also includes a communications interface148, enabling the data capture device 104 to exchange data with othercomputing devices, such as the host computing device 108. Thecommunications interface 148 includes any suitable hardware (e.g.Network Interface Controllers (NICs), Universal Serial Bus (USB)controllers, and the like) allowing the data capture device 104 tocommunicate over the network 112.

The above-mentioned components of the data capture device 104 can beimplemented in various form factors. Turning to FIG. 2, an example datacapture device 104 is shown in the form of a bioptic scanner that can bemounted in a retail checkout countertop or other support surface.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the data capture device 104includes a housing 200 containing the components mentioned above inconnection with FIG. 1. The housing defines a platform 204 on whichitems may be placed and over which a scan volume 206 is defined, e.g. byscan windows 208 and 212. The primary image sensor 132 has a field ofview extending from at least one of the windows 208 and 212. The datacapture device 104 can include an optical assembly enabling the primaryimage sensor 132 to capture images via either window 208 and 212, or thedata capture device 104 can include two primary image sensors, withrespective fields of view traversing the scan windows 208 and 212. Thescale 136 is coupled to the platform 204 and is configured to detect theweight of items on the platform 204. The infrared sensor 140 also has afield of view extending from at least one of the windows 208 and 212 andis configured to detect reflected infrared light from items in the scanvolume 206.

The auxiliary image sensor 144 is also disposed within the housing 200such that a field of view of the auxiliary image sensor 144 extends fromone of the scan windows 208 and 212. In other examples, however, theauxiliary image sensor 144 can be contained in another housing separatefrom the housing 200, and communicatively coupled with the processor 116(within the housing 200). In further examples, the auxiliary imagesensor 144 can be deployed along with an auxiliary controller distinctfrom the processor 116, and an auxiliary communications interface (e.g.a USB interface) distinct from the interface 148. In suchimplementations, the auxiliary controller can communicate with both theprocessor 116 and the host computing device 108.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, primary data capturemay be initiated by passing an item through the scan volume 206, placingan item on the platform 204, activating an input of the device 104, orthe like. For example, the data capture device 104 may employ a wakeupsystem based on the infrared sensor 140. When detected infrared data isat the baseline infrared value for a configurable time period, the datacapture device 104 may enter a stand-by mode. In the stand-by mode, theprimary image sensor 132 and the scale 136 are disabled to conservepower consumed by the data capture device 104. Upon detecting a changein the captured infrared data above the baseline infrared value, thedata capture device 104 may wake up and initiate primary data capture bythe primary image sensor 132.

Turning now to FIG. 3, the actions performed by the data capture device104 during primary data capture operations in order to control auxiliarydata capture will be described in greater detail. FIG. 3 illustrates amethod 300 of selective auxiliary data capture. The method 300 will bedescribed below in conjunction with its performance in the system 100,and in particular, by the data capture device 104. It is contemplated,however, that the method 300 can also be performed in various othersuitable systems.

At block 305, the data capture device 104 is configured to obtain thebaseline infrared value. For example, the processor 116 may retrieve thebaseline infrared value from the repository 128.

At block 310, the data capture device 104 is configured to control theinfrared sensor 140 to capture infrared data. In particular, controllingthe infrared sensor 140 to capture infrared data may include obtainingan amount of infrared light detected by the infrared sensor 140.

The data capture device 104 may further be configured, at block 310, tocontrol the primary image sensor 132, or other primary data capturesensors, such as a barcode scanner or the like, to obtain primary data.The data capture device 104 may be configured to process the primarydata and/or transmit the primary data to the host computing device 108for processing. For example, when a barcode or other indicium isdetected by an image captured by the primary image sensor 132, and datais successfully decoded from the barcode, the data capture device 104can be configured to transmit the decoded data to the host computingdevice 108. In other examples, the data capture device 104 may processthe primary data and transmit the primary data to the host computingdevice at block 325, in conjunction with the auxiliary data.

At blocks 315 and 320, the data capture device 104 is configured todetermine whether the trigger condition is satisfied to trigger theauxiliary data capture sensor 144 to obtain auxiliary captured data.Specifically, the data capture device 104 is configured to determinewhether the infrared data captured at block 310 exceeds the baselineinfrared value. When an item is present in the scan volume 206, theinfrared light reflected from the item and detected by the infraredsensor 140 exceeds the baseline infrared value. In some examples, theprocessor 116 may determine whether the captured infrared data exceedsthe baseline infrared value by a configurable threshold. When thecaptured infrared data exceeds the baseline infrared value by at leastthe threshold, the processor 116 may determine that an item is presentin the scan volume 206. When the captured infrared data exceeds thebaseline infrared value by less than the threshold, the infrared sensor140 may be detecting changes in infrared due to environmental changes(e.g., moving objects outside the scan volume 206). When thedetermination at block 315 is negative, the processor 116 returns toblock 310.

When the determination at block 315 is affirmative, at block 320, theprocessor 116 determines whether a variance in the signal from theinfrared sensor 140 falls below a variance threshold. The thresholdapplied at block 320 is such that variance below the threshold indicatesthat the item in the scan volume 206 is substantially stationary.Variance above the threshold indicates that the item is in motion, andthat it may therefore not currently be feasible to capture an auxiliaryimage of the item. For example, the threshold can include a time period(e.g., 0.5 seconds, although other time periods may also be employed)and a maximum permitted change in the data received from the infraredsensor 140 over the time period. For example, the maximum permittedchange may be a maximum change between any consecutive infrared datasamples in the time period, or a maximum cumulative change over allinfrared data samples within the time period.

When the determination at block 320 is negative, indicating that theitem is in motion, the processor 116 can repeat block 320, or simplyreturn to block 310. When the determination at block 320 is affirmative,the processor 116 proceeds to block 325.

At block 325, the processor 116 controls the auxiliary image sensor 144to capture an image frame and sends the captured image frame to the hostcomputing device 108. In other examples, the auxiliary image sensor 144operates in a video mode, and therefore captures a stream of imageframes throughout the performance of the method 300. In such examples,at block 325, the processor 116 is configured to retrieve the mostrecent frame captured by the auxiliary image sensor 144 and transmit theretrieved image frame to the host computing device 108. The processor116 then returns to block 305. In other examples, rather than capturingthe most recent frame, the processor 116 may identify a timecorresponding to an event of interest (i.e., a time at which the triggerevent was satisfied) and retrieve the frame captured by the auxiliaryimage sensor 144 having a corresponding timestamp. By using the infrareddata to detect the presence and stability of items in the scan volume206, the system is enabled to capture image frames for processing (e.g.,item recognition or the like) by the host computing device 108.

In some examples, after an affirmative determination at block 320, theprocessor 116 may evaluate additional data to determine whether thetrigger condition is satisfied to trigger the auxiliary data capturesensor to obtain auxiliary captured data. In particular, the additionalcriteria of the trigger condition may verify the presence and stability(i.e., lack of motion) of the item in the scan volume 206. For example,turning to FIG. 4, an example method 400 is illustrated. The method 400may be performed when the data capture device 104 includes the scale136.

At block 405, the processor 116 obtains weight data from the scale 136.

At block 410, the processor 116 is configured to determine whether thedata received from the scale 136 indicates a non-zero weight. That is,the processor 116 determines whether an item is present on the platform204. When the determination at block 410 is negative because the datafrom the scale 136 indicates zero weight (or a weight below aconfigurable threshold), the processor 116 returns to block 310.

When the determination at block 410 is affirmative, at block 415 theprocessor 116 determines whether a variance in the data from the scale136 falls below a threshold. The threshold applied at block 415 isselected such that variance below the threshold indicates that the itemon the platform 204 is substantially stationary. Variance above thethreshold indicates that the item is in motion, and that it maytherefore not currently be feasible to obtain an accurate weight or tocapture an auxiliary image of the item. For example, the threshold caninclude a time period (e.g. 0.5 seconds, although other time periods mayalso be employed) and a maximum permitted change in the data receivedfrom the scale 136 over the time period (e.g. 1 gram, although variousother permitted changes can also be employed).

When the determination at block 415 is negative, indicating that theitem is in motion, the processor 116 can repeat block 415, or simplyreturn to block 310. When the determination at block 415 is affirmative,the processor 116 proceeds to block 325, as discussed above.

The repository 128 can also include additional data, for example tospecify auxiliary data capture parameters. For example, each eventregistration can specify different capture parameters (e.g. exposuretime, flash and the like) for controlling the auxiliary image sensor144. In other examples, the data capture device 104 can include multipleauxiliary data capture sensors, and different event registrations canconfigure the processor 116 to activate different ones of the auxiliarydata capture sensors.

In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments have beendescribed. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates thatvarious modifications and changes can be made without departing from thescope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly,the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrativerather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intendedto be included within the scope of present teachings.

The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) thatmay cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of any or all the claims. The invention is definedsolely by the appended claims including any amendments made during thependency of this application and all equivalents of those claims asissued.

Moreover in this document, relational terms such as first and second,top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish oneentity or action from another entity or action without necessarilyrequiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between suchentities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “has”,“having,” “includes”, “including,” “contains”, “containing” or any othervariation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, suchthat a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has,includes, contains a list of elements does not include only thoseelements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherentto such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by“comprises . . . a”, “has . . . a”, “includes . . . a”, “contains . . .a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence ofadditional identical elements in the process, method, article, orapparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains the element. The terms“a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless explicitly statedotherwise herein. The terms “substantially”, “essentially”,“approximately”, “about” or any other version thereof, are defined asbeing close to as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and inone non-limiting embodiment the term is defined to be within 10%, inanother embodiment within 5%, in another embodiment within 1% and inanother embodiment within 0.5%. The term “coupled” as used herein isdefined as connected, although not necessarily directly and notnecessarily mechanically. A device or structure that is “configured” ina certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also beconfigured in ways that are not listed.

It will be appreciated that some embodiments may be comprised of one ormore generic or specialized processors (or “processing devices”) such asmicroprocessors, digital signal processors, customized processors andfield programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and unique stored programinstructions (including both software and firmware) that control the oneor more processors to implement, in conjunction with certainnon-processor circuits, some, most, or all of the functions of themethod and/or apparatus described herein. Alternatively, some or allfunctions could be implemented by a state machine that has no storedprogram instructions, or in one or more application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), in which each function or some combinations of certainof the functions are implemented as custom logic. Of course, acombination of the two approaches could be used.

Moreover, an embodiment can be implemented as a computer-readablestorage medium having computer readable code stored thereon forprogramming a computer (e.g., comprising a processor) to perform amethod as described and claimed herein. Examples of suchcomputer-readable storage mediums include, but are not limited to, ahard disk, a scale CD-ROM, an optical storage device, a magnetic storagedevice, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a PROM (Programmable Read OnlyMemory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), an EEPROM(Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) and a Flashmemory. Further, it is expected that one of ordinary skill,notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design choicesmotivated by, for example, available time, current technology, andeconomic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principlesdisclosed herein will be readily capable of generating such softwareinstructions and programs and ICs with minimal experimentation.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader toquickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It issubmitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpretor limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in theforegoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features aregrouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than allfeatures of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims arehereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

1. A method of auxiliary data capture control, the method comprising:storing, at a data capture device, a trigger condition and a baselineinfrared value captured by an infrared sensor; controlling the infraredsensor to obtain captured infrared data; determining, based on thecaptured infrared data and the baseline infrared value, whether thetrigger condition is satisfied, wherein the trigger condition includeswhether the captured infrared data exceeds the baseline infrared valueand whether a variance in the captured infrared data over a configurabletime period is below a variance threshold; and when the triggercondition is satisfied, controlling an auxiliary data capture sensor toobtain auxiliary captured data.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising transmitting the auxiliary captured data to a host computingdevice.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the trigger condition furtherincludes whether the captured infrared data exceeds the baselineinfrared value by a threshold.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereincontrolling the auxiliary data capture sensor to obtain auxiliarycaptured data includes controlling an auxiliary image sensor to capturean image frame.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary datacapture sensor is an auxiliary image sensor operating in a video mode;and wherein controlling the auxiliary data capture sensor to obtainauxiliary captured data includes retrieving a most recent frame capturedby the auxiliary image sensor.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein theauxiliary data capture sensor is an auxiliary image sensor operating ina video mode; and wherein controlling the auxiliary data capture sensorto obtain auxiliary captured data includes retrieving a frame capturedby the auxiliary image sensor, the frame having a timestampcorresponding to a time at which the trigger condition was satisfied. 7.The method of claim 1, further comprising capturing weight data; andwherein the trigger condition further includes: whether the weight datais non-zero; and whether a variance in the weight data over aconfigurable time period is below a threshold.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising: in response to the data capture device initializing,capturing initial infrared data; and setting the baseline infrared valuebased on the initial infrared data.
 9. A data capture device comprising:a memory storing a trigger condition and a baseline infrared value; aninfrared sensor; an auxiliary data capture sensor; and a processorconnected with the memory, the infrared sensor and the auxiliary datacapture sensor, the processor configured to: control the infrared sensorto obtain captured infrared data; determine, based on the capturedinfrared data and the baseline infrared value, whether the triggercondition is satisfied, wherein the trigger condition includes whetherthe captured infrared data exceeds the baseline infrared value andwhether a variance in the captured infrared data over a configurabletime period is below a variance threshold; and when the triggercondition is satisfied, control the auxiliary data capture sensor toobtain auxiliary captured data.
 10. The data capture device of claim 9,further comprising a communications interface; and wherein the processoris further configured to transmit the auxiliary captured data to a hostcomputing device via the communications interface.
 11. The data capturedevice of claim 9, wherein the trigger condition further includeswhether the captured infrared data exceeds the baseline infrared valueby a threshold.
 12. The data capture device of claim 9, wherein theauxiliary data capture sensor is an image sensor, and wherein theprocessor is configured to control the auxiliary data capture sensor tocapture an image frame.
 13. The data capture device of claim 9, whereinthe auxiliary data capture sensor is an auxiliary image sensor operatingin a video mode; and wherein the processor is configured to control theauxiliary data capture sensor to obtain auxiliary captured data byretrieving a most recent frame captured by the auxiliary image sensor.14. The data capture device of claim 9, wherein the auxiliary datacapture sensor is an auxiliary image sensor operating in a video mode;and wherein the processor is configured to control the auxiliary datacapture sensor to obtain auxiliary captured data by retrieving a framecaptured by the auxiliary image sensor, the frame having a timestampcorresponding to a time at which the trigger condition was satisfied.15. The data capture device of claim 9, further comprising aweigh-scale; wherein the processor is further configured to control theweigh-scale to obtain weight data; and wherein the trigger conditionfurther includes whether the weight data is non-zero; and whether avariance in the weight data over a configurable time period is below athreshold.
 16. The data capture device of claim 9, wherein the processoris further configured to: in response to the data capture deviceinitializing, control the infrared sensor to capture initial infrareddata; and set the baseline infrared value based on the initial infrareddata.